1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for presenting analytic values as results of analysis calculation of physical quantities such as a temperature, wind direction, and the like, and actual measured values of such quantities to the user.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, computer technologies support the product design and manufacture, and the pre-examination of process design. Such technologies allow to examine respective components of products without manufacturing actual products by making analyses such as impact analysis, vibration analysis, fluid analysis, stress analysis, and the like using data of products created on computers.
In order to make analyses using product data, it is a common practice to convert the product data into analysis data by a system called a pre-processor. For example, a process called meshing is known. This process replaces a mathematically defined continuous plane by a set of small triangles or rectangles. In general, as the meshing gets finer, the analysis result becomes more accurate. However, the analytic calculations require much time accordingly.
A calculation system called a solver analyzes the analysis data of the product prepared by the pre-processor using a calculation model that expresses the laws of physics on a real world by a mathematical method such as a finite element method, after analysis conditions such as initial values and the like are set. A visualization system called a post-processor expresses the analysis result in a format that the user can visually understand. As the expression method, the colors indicating temperature distribution obtained by the analytic calculations are assigned to the sectional view of the product.
Furthermore, in recent years, along with the progress of computer graphics technologies such as volume graphics and the like, the analysis results are expressed three-dimensionally. Also, the virtual reality (VR) technique allows the user who wears a head-mounted display (HMD) on the head to view the three-dimensionally expressed analysis result from a free viewpoint. In this case, when the user moves the head, computer graphics data to be displayed changes in accordance with that motion (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-155855).
Also, the augmented reality (AR) technique allows the user who wears the HMD on the head to view the three-dimensionally expressed analysis result combined with a real space from a free viewpoint. Since the AR technique allows the user to simultaneously observe the real world in addition to computer graphics unlike the VR technique, the user can point to the analysis result by his or her own finger.
The analysis result does not always match an actual result. In such a case, the calculation model used in analysis may not match the real world, or meshing done by the pre-processor may be inappropriate. For this reason, whether or not the analysis result matches the actual result must be verified. Conventionally, the following verification method is adopted.
1. A product is produced in practice, the same actual environment as the analysis conditions upon making analyses is prepared, and actual values are measured at some points.
2. Analytic values corresponding to the points where the actual measured values are obtained are acquired.
3. By repeating processes 1 and 2, a graph is created.
With this method, the actual measured values and analytic values can be compared. Such a comparison method is disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-160700.
However, since the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-160700 makes comparison by means of a graph, the user cannot intuitively recognize the points and degrees of differences between the actual measured values and analytic values on the space.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the aforementioned problems, and has as its object to provide a technique that allows the user to intuitively recognize the differences between the actual measured values and analytic values of physical quantities on the real space.